Excelsior Christkindlsmarkt

The German-inspired exchange has everything you need to get in the holiday spirit

The Excelsior Christkindlsmarkt trolley on tracks outside of an apartment complex.
Excelsior Christkindlsmarkt downtown trolley

courtesy of Excelsior Christkindlsmarkt


11/24-26

Holidazzle is dead; long live Holidazzle—in its relatively new form as a European-style market. Has the open-air Loring Park bazaar replaced the soul of the original Minneapolis parade (also the soul of an adult dressed as a giant holiday lightbulb tripping down Nicollet Mall)? Online reviews of the event have said: It’s expensive and muddy. More tried and tested, the 11-year-old holiday market in Excelsior also emulates Dresden’s 700-year-old fest (“Christkindlsmarkt,” German for “Christmas market”). It bears the obligatory trappings of golden-windowed comfort: roasted almonds, strudels, gluehwein—a warm, mulled red, spiced and sweetened. Delude yourself into thinking your screen-addicted kids will play with wooden toys sold in cute tents, then impulse-buy an alpaca sweater you’ll love while riding the downtown trolley—and blush at thereafter. excelsiorchristkindlsmarkt.com